The Bridge Service for
Young Carers
.
Welcome to Family Action
Family Action has been a leading provider of services to disadvantaged and socially isolated
families for 140 years. We work with over 45,000 families every year providing practical,
emotional and financial support through over 100 services based in communities across
England. We build on families’ strengths, supporting them to fulfil their potential and make a
positive contribution to their community.
In providing such services Family Action has developed an excellent reputation of
supporting Young Carers and their families. We currently support Young Carers in County
Durham, Manchester, Rochdale, Nottinghamshire, and Central and South London.
4 Red Hill
Villa’s
Co. Durham
DH14BA
 0191 3832520
Project Manager:
Allison Hicks
Welcome to The Bridge Service for Young Carers
The Bridge Service will aim to support young people who have challenging caring roles with a family focussed
approach. The Bridge will do this through individual work, identified group work and working with others so that
there is ‘no wrong door’ for a young carer in County Durham. The aim is to enable young carers to aspire to and
achieve their full potential.
At the heart of The Bridge is the whole family approach. This takes into account the impact of illness, disability,
substance misuse, domestic violence on the whole family. This whole family way of working has informed all of
Family Action’s England-wide services for vulnerable families since it was first established, to tackle poverty and
disadvantage in the East End in 1869.
Family Action Young Carers’ Services:
• work to achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes and use outcome-based evaluation systems
• help young people and Young Carers to access other services in the community
• advocate on behalf of young carers and their families
• provide information to young carers about a parent’s illness or disability
• support young carers with any issues they may have at school
• provide group work and regular activities, often linked to the creative arts
• arrange activities and holidays with other young carers, children and young people in the community
and for the whole family
• provide the opportunity for new experiences, to learn new skills and to be involved in how the service
is run.
All of our Young Carers services are different; however each project ensures that the ‘whole family’ is at the centre
of our support. We help Young Carers by ensuring we understand your family and how each person’s needs are
different yet still important. Our Young Carers support projects always include opportunities that are designed to
ensure Young Carers:

have the chance to enjoy and achieve well at school

have improved opportunities to socialise and have regular contact with other Young Carers. Hard copies can
be requested for the next edition from the project address at the end of this newsletter.

have the chance to better understand how valued they are and how important their role is

have the chance to reduce or stop some caring roles with the support of professional services
supporting families since 1869
Family Action in Durham
The Bridge Project for Young Carers in Durham offers:







Help with practical tasks and problems associated with caring
Emotional support for Young Carers and family members
1 to 1 support for Young Carers, including individual activities
Group based activity programmes designed for fun and confidence building
Group based support work to build self esteem and confidence
Support with all school related issues
Opportunities to get involved in designing the services for Young Carers
The Bridge Project
Family Action have been commissioned by Durham County Council and Durham & Darlington Primary Care Trust to provide
a service to Young Carers between the ages of 0 – 18 years across County Durham; covering Derwentside, Durham &
Chester le Street, The Dales and East Durham, and has been operating out of premises based in Durham City since the end
of August.
A young carer will be identified as having a caring role for a member of their family who may have a physical or learning
disability; mental health / substance misuse issues; terminal, life limiting or life threatening illness. This may also include
practical or emotional care that would normally be expected of an adult, and therefore has a significant impact on their
childhood.
The service, known as The Bridge Project, will support young carers and their families to minimise the impact of harmful
caring responsibilities for the young person.
A designated member of the team will be responsible for each One Point throughout the County. The link workers have now
been nominated and can be contacted at the number and e-mail address below.
In the meantime, if you would like further information or would like to make a referral, please contact
The Bridge Project.
4 Red Villas
Durham City
DH1 4BA
[email protected]
Tel 0191 3832520
supporting families since 1869